This reflection should describe your planning process and your evaluation of the lesson based on the following:
What went well in this lesson? What did you enjoy? If you were to teach this lesson, what would you have done differently? What would you add? What would you have left out?
The
lesson my group and I taught was specifically designed for Standard 2 classes
in the primary education system. Topics were taken out from the school’s
syllabus developed by the Ministry of education of Trinidad and Tobago. The
science lesson entailed the concept of matter. A lesson plan was constructed by
the teachers to guide class learning. Objectives, assessment and strategies
were developed around the topic and were interconnected to match each other. A
lot of concrete materials were appropriately used throughout the lesson because
per Piaget, children’s concept evolved through direct interaction with the
environment and materials can provide several ways to facilitate learning. The
overall critique received from the execution of the lesson allowed me to get a
greater insight as a prospective teacher.
I
was a bit nervous at first but after a few minutes into the lesson I started to
feel much more comfortable. There were a lot of things that went well in the
lesson. To begin with, my group members and I were well organized and had
smooth transitions throughout the lesson for which we were commended for. Each
of the prospective teachers were all knowledgeable about the content of the
lesson and shared information that would add to the students understanding. The
materials provided were appropriate and corresponded to what was being taught.
Mrs. Noel commended us on how we used our resources, as well as, the creativity
of the resources used. The use of props such as the lab coat worn by one of the
teachers was intended to change the mood of the room into a more science
centered environment. There were great student teacher interaction and the
participation of the students in the class was excellent.
I
enjoyed planning and being part of the execution phase of the lesson. The
experience gained by practically teaching students allowed me to become more
comfortable and overcome some challenges such as nervousness. It also pinpointed
areas I needed to work on to better improve myself. I also enjoyed working with
my fellow prospective teachers. Tiffani was very helpful in terms of assisting
me in breaking down the content and Avinash was very practical in coming up
with ideas for resources such as placing the vibrating phone in the metal pan
to demonstrate how solids vibrate.
However,
based on the remarks given there were a few things that my group members and I
could have done differently. One, was making proper use of headings and subheading
and not writing notes on the board before the class started. For our assessment
after the first demonstration we should have left he students to work on their
own to construct models of the shapes on the paper using matter.
To
improve the lesson, I could have added the use of technology into the lesson
and use media to assist through visuals, and audio when teaching the concept of
matter. In addition, since the three states of matter are solids, liquids, and
gases we could have used the science lab at the school to provide demonstration
of liquids and gases and link them to real life examples.
The
only thing I would leave out from the lesson is the part where we wrote notes
on the board before class started. Overall I am proud of the first lesson I
have taught. I took away alot from the experience and positively embraced the
remarks given by my lecturer. I intend to use the constructive criticism to continuously
develop my professional skills.
